It’s been 40 years since Teddy Ruxpin blew kids’ minds by talking and reading stories. Let’s see how far we’ve come.
Foul-mouthed A.I. toys could be a big issue this Christmas. (!!!) It’s the first year a ton of popular toys will have built-in A.I. features.
A nonprofit called Public Interest Research Group released its 40th annual “Trouble in Toyland” report. In the past, they’ve focused on things like choking hazards. But they say A.I. is emerging as a new threat to look out for.
They tested a bunch of toys that use A.I. to have full-on conversations with kids. And some of the conversations weren’t exactly PG.
“We found some of these toys will talk in-depth about SEXUALLY EXPLICIT TOPICS, will offer advice on where a child can find MATCHES OR KNIVES, [and] act dismayed when [kids] say [they] have to leave.”
In other words, there’s no way to tell what an A.I. toy might talk about. And it might even pressure your kid to keep playing, even when they say they’re done.
One toy they tested even recorded for 10 extra seconds after kids stopped talking. So there could be privacy issues too.
They didn’t call out specific products to avoid. They just say be careful with A.I. toys in general.
Top 5 Classic Toys That Still Make Perfect Christmas Presents for Today’s Kids
Experts warn foul-mouthed A.I. toys could be a huge issue this holiday season. So forget that high-tech doll that teaches your child the F-bomb this year and give them anything from today’s list of the Top 5 Classic Toys That Still Make Perfect Christmas Presents for Today’s Kids.
Etch-a-Sketch. If your kid’s going to be addicted to a screen anyhow, they might as well use it to draw, like, triangles and stuff.
The yo-yo. There’s no better toy for a child with ADHD than something that goes up, then goes down, then goes . . . nope, that’s it.
Silly Putty. Think it’s too dumb to entertain kids of today? You haven’t heard of the “6,7” trend, have you?
The sock monkey. It’s cheap, easy to use, and best of all still works during a Wi-Fi outage.
Magic 8 Ball. It knows so much, it’s basically ChatGPT in a plastic shell.
Slinky. After it goes downstairs, your lazy ass kid finally gets some exercise returning it upstairs.
The corn popper. Wouldn’t it be nice to see your child “pop” something other than Ritalin?
(PIRG)
